There are cash-strapped governments and there are broke governments. And then there's Zimbabwe, which, after paying last week's government salaries, has just $217 left in the bank. No, we didn't forget any zeroes to the end of that figure. Zimbabwe, the country that's home to some of the world's largest platinum and diamond reserves, literally has the same financial standing as a 14-year-old girl after a really good birthday party.

The country's finance minister admitted as much in a press conference on Tuesday. "Last week when we paid civil servants there was $217 left in government coffers."

Lost in the president’s hyperventilation is the fact that under sequestration the federal government will spend just 1.5 percent less this year than it would like to, and still slightly more than it spent in 2012. Indeed, it will spend more than it has in any year in history save one (2011). And even discretionary spending, which takes the brunt of the cuts, will be set at — shock, horror — 2009 levels.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Federal Reserve officials downplayed the risks of asset bubbles and balance-sheet losses, both of which hint the central bank’s extraordinary bond purchases may continue for some time, according to speeches and a media report released Friday.

Harare — IN a dramatic move which consolidates reports Wednesday's general elections results were largely rigged, shadowy Israeli security company Nikuv International Projects Ltd (NIP)'s founder and CEO, Emmanuel Antebi, was reportedly in the country on Tuesday to meet President Robert Mugabe and other senior Zanu PF officials a day before the elections to finalise the deal to engineer the results, it has emerged.NIP, which was in 1996 taken to court in Zambia over vote rigging allegations as reported by the Zimbabwe Independent recently, deals with voter registration, creating and printing of the voters' roll, demarcation of constituencies, voter registration cards, nomination of candidates and election results.

This seems to be clear cut balance sheet problem. The government do not seems to have kept a good book keeper on a funny note. Talking seriously it seems that the Zimbabwean government is almost bankrupt. The government do not seems to have money even to spend the basic needs of the people. But the government seems to be a bit overconfident, even after being in such a horrible state they think they can be able to spend as much as they did in previous financial year. The case needs to be studied by good book keepers and the solutions have to be generated before the situation goes out of the hand.